ADAMS TWP — The biggest youth basketball tournament in the region now has a big name to go with it.

The fifth annual Mars youth basketball tournament — a 56-team event running Feb. 22-26 and using five gyms — has been renamed the Scott Lang Memorial Tournament.

Lang was a Mars graduate and former Planet basketball player who went on to become head coach at La Roche College. He died suddenly of a heart attack during a team practice in 2010.

Lang was only 41 years old.

“We host a high school tournament to begin the season in Scott’s name,” said Mars High varsity boys basketball coach Rob Carmody, who was a friend of Lang’s. “Because of the realignment this season, we couldn’t find a fourth team and had to forego that tournament this year.

“Eric Cunningham came up with the idea of naming the youth tournament in Scott’s honor. I hope that name stays with this tournament. I think it’s a great idea.”

Cunningham is the president of Mars youth basketball, which has 106 kids participating.

Mary Ellen Dickson, Lang’s mother who started a Mars basketball scholarship in her son’s name a few years ago, liked Cunningham’s idea as well.

“She teared up when we told her,” Carmody said.

The Mars youth tourney had 48 teams last year and picked up eight more this time around. Each team is guaranteed three games — seeding to follow — and games are played in the Mars High School main and auxiliary gyms, the Centennial school, middle school and elementary school gyms.

The event is for boys teams in grades 3-6.

“I haven’t seen another youth tournament that comes close to this one in size,” Cunningham said. “It takes a lot of people to make it work.”

That includes players on the Mars varsity boys and girls teams, who take the time to work the game clocks and run concessions.

“I know this because I have two sons who came through this program ... They looked over and saw Christian Locher, Tim Frye, Steve Cress, Owen Nearhoof working their tournament,” Carmody said. “Those guys were heroes to my boys and their teammates.

“They wanted to grow up to be them. Now they are, giving back by working the same tournament.

“We’re on the verge of making the WPIAL playoffs for the 10th straight year. When something like that happens, you have to look at what’s going on with the youth program, developing these kids before they even get to high school,” Carmody added. Cunninghamn said that every school in Butler County will be represented by ast least one team in this tournament.

“We don’t make a lot of money off this, but some of the proceeds will go toward the Lang scholarship,” he said.

Cunningham estimated that 480 kids played in last year’s tourney and more than 2,400 people watched it. Both of those numbers will likely be dwarfed this year.

Adding Lang’s name to the event only adds more meaning to it, he said.

“Scott Lang’s legacy is something young kids around here should get to know,” Cunningham added.

Carmody agreed.

“Scott wasn’t just about basketball,” Carmody said. “He was a teacher of life and faith and used basketball as a tool that way. We worked camps together. He turned down opportunities to be a Division I assistant coach because he believed he was making a difference at La Roche.

“The guy bled blue and gold. He would end every phone conversation by saying ‘Stay blessed.’ There was nothing phony or fake about that. That’s who he was and that’s how he felt about people.”